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Life's a Beach

Florida, anyone?

Sun, sand, and surf...how could we resist it? My parents booked a week's stay in Destin, and when the opportunity came for us to tag along for a few days, we just couldn't say no. Was the eleven hour drive (each way) worth it for 2 1/2 days at the beach? Without a doubt.

Let's start with the water. Destin is on the Gulf of Mexico, and the water is crystal clear and perfect for swimming. Jonah and Kate loved the ocean, especially jumping over the waves as they rolled in.
Jonah regularly took out his frog float to explore the deeper regions of the ocean. Combine that with his snorkel mask and he becomes ocean explorer extraordiaire.

The condo building had a fabulous pool that the kids enjoyed even more than the ocean. Here's Kate chiling with Dora in the shallow end. We even went night swimming once, a first for our family, and that added a whole new dimension to the pool's coolness.

Of course when you go to the beach, you have to play in the sand. And believe me, we did plenty of that...

Sandcastles...

Sand angels...

Buried treasure...

This sandcastle is truly a work of art. If you can't tell, there is a snake and a dragon protecting it, and it even has a moat to keep out the waves (at least until the tide came in).

However, while the rest of us loved the beautiful white sands, Lincoln wanted nothing to do with them. This is where he stayed when we were on the beach--the beach chair. You put his tootsies on the white stuff and everyone heard about it. It was amazing to me that he actually stayed in the chair, but of course Grandma was nearby providing an unlimited supply of snacks.

There was one brief period when he was brave enough to try the ocean. He is still a little wary, but at least I got photographic proof that he'd made contact with water (he loved the pool, though).

Although, he was fine as long as he was in someone's arms.

Lincoln also loved the harbor. We ate there one night a restaurant called "The Lucky Snapper." We also had to keep a close eye on our little snapper to make sure he didn't run right off the boardwalk.

Here's Grandma with the snacks...

Katie had a lot of fun with Grandpa; he was always good about helping her jump the waves.

The kids with Grandma and Grandpa. We are very thankful that they let us come along on their trip. We had a blast and look forward to going back again (soon, please?).